If his Syracuse Orangemen hadn’t, in their final regular-season game against Georgetown, gotten their heads kicked in, he wouldn’t have expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with their performance and a preference for doing anything other than coaching them at the moment. Such as playing golf.

So it was obvious that meant he was planning to retire. Really, what else could it mean? Everybody who plays golf is retired. We know this, right? Except, obviously, for people such as Tiger Woods, for whom playing golf is their job.

OK, so that’s not really true. Lots of working people play golf for leisure. And Boeheim is one of them. He is very much employed today, has been for nearly five decades and will continue to be into the future. Someone who wanted to know what Boeheim’s plans are could have asked the people who know him best and been assured of his intent to continue as Syracuse coach. But what fun would that be?

Q. When do you think you'll decide, announce, whether or not you're coming back next year?

COACH BOEHEIM: Why would you ask that question? I expect it from you. I know you. Why ask that question? Are you going to ask John Beilein that question?

Q. We ask 19 year old questions and they handle it better than you are.

COACH BOEHEIM: You ask 19 year old kid if he's going to retire? Really?

Q. If they're going to be back next year?

COACH BOEHEIM: If you're going to say something smart, at least be smart.

Q. I said be back next year, I didn't say retire. If you're going to be smart, at least get it right.

COACH BOEHEIM: I am right.

Q. Are you going to be back next year or not?

COACH BOEHEIM: I'm not going to answer that question unless you ask every coach that question. Are you going to ask John if he's going to retire or not coming back next year? I've never indicated at any time that I'm not coming back next year ever.

Boeheim is 68 years old and will turn 69 before next season really gets going. There has been a belief he is not eager to see Syracuse move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, and that was true to a point. Whatever he said publicly in the aftermath of SU’s decision to dump the Big East for the ACC, he was displeased with the move (as were a great number of the program’s most ardent supporters). With the way in which the Big East has disintegrated, though, those feelings no longer are as powerful.

Eventually Doyel got back around to asking another question that phrased the “retirement” question in this light.

“I love the Big East, but if the Big East was the same as it was, or even remotely the same, I would quit because I wouldn't be happy,” Boeheim said. “The Big East is not there at all. In fact, there's more Big East teams in the ACC than there are Big East teams in whatever the conference is, American whatever.

“As far as I know, I'm 100 percent coaching next year. You know, that's really kind of where I'm at right now.”